RITZ® Crackers Party Sandwiches
These two-bite RITZ Crackers Party Sandwiches are the perfect addition to your appetizer buffet. Kids love them, too!
Featured Comment:
“I made these for a work Christmas brunch and these were a HUGE hit!” -Julianne
I love any excuse to enjoy some fun snacks and appetizers, and these RITZ® Cracker Sandwiches deliver big on fun and flavor!
They’re are a riff on Hawaiian Roll Sliders that are made with Hawaiian buns, but I swapped in RITZ Crackers instead.
They’re easy to make, and a fun addition to your appetizer table. They’re best served while warm out of the oven, so consider that when planning your party. I love these for watching sports and holiday parties, but there are quite a few readers who make them for dinner. There’s no bad time for these little RITZ cracker appetizers!
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Ingredients
- Ritz Crackers are super buttery and are the perfect “bread” for these sandwiches.
- Deli ham and sliced swiss will go in between the crackers. You can swap in your favorite deli meat and cheese if you like.
- The sandwiches are drizzled with melted butter before baking.
- Worcestershire sauce, dijon mustard, salt, and dried onion flakes add lots of flavor to the butter. If you don’t have dried onion flakes, onion powder works well.
- Poppy seeds are a fun addition to the top of the sandwiches.
How to make Ritz Cracker Party Sandwiches
Start with two 13×9 inch pans. Place 24 crackers in the bottom of each pan (so you’ll use 48 crackers total on the bottom).
Top the crackers with thin slices of deli ham. You can use honey ham, black forest ham—whichever ham that you prefer.
Then, top the crackers with Swiss cheese. Colby jack, cheddar, or your favorite sliced cheese would work here, too.
Top each sandwich with another Ritz cracker. You’ll use another 48 crackers to top them.
Melt the butter, then stir in the dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, and salt. Pour the butter mixture over the top of the crackers, then sprinkle with poppy seeds and onion flakes.
Bake the sandwiches for 10–12 minutes, or until golden brown.
The end result is a delicious RITZ cracker sandwich that is irresistible and just the right size for snacking.
FAQs
Yes! You can easily cut this recipe in half to make 24 mini sandwiches instead of 48 mini sandwiches. You will only need one 13×9 inch pan. Tap the “0.5x” button near the ingredients in the recipe card below for exact quantities for half a recipe.
Many deli meats will be delicious in place of the ham. Roast beef, turkey, or even salami would be a great choice. For the cheese, try colby jack, cheddar, american, or even pepper jack for a little spice. A reader named Rick said that he made these with pepperoni (two per “sandwich”), which sounds like a great idea to me!
The sandwiches taste best when they are warm, right out of the oven. I recommend baking them right before you plan to serve them. If they sit too long, the crackers may become soggy. Follow the instructions below for what steps you CAN get done ahead of time!
Make ahead Instructions
These mini Ritz sandwiches are best served warm out of the oven. As a result, I don’t recommend making these ahead of time.
However, you can check these steps off the list ahead of time:
- Cut the cheese and ham into pieces
- Assemble the sandwiches
- Make the butter mixture but do NOT pour it on yet
Then, when you’re ready to serve, you just need to pour the butter mixture over the top and bake them.
More easy appetizers
- Guacamole with Rotel is a super easy spin on guacamole
- 20 recipes for Little Smokies (those little cocktail sausages!)
- Chocolate Chip Dip is a sweet appetizer that’s always a party hit
- Grape Jelly Meatballs (just 3 ingredients!)
- Puff Pastry Bites with Goat Cheese and Jam also has just 3 ingredients
- Mini Reuben Sandwiches are another fun bite-sized sandwich
- Pimento Cheese Finger Sandwiches are always a hit
📖 Recipe
RITZ® Crackers Party Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 96 RITZ® Crackers (about 3 sleeves)
- ½ lb thinly sliced deli ham
- ⅓ lb thinly sliced swiss cheese
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes (or onion powder)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place 24 RITZ® Crackers in the bottom of a 13×9 inch baking dish, flat side down. Place another 24 RITZ® Crackers in the bottom of another 13×9 inch baking dish. Tear the ham gently with your hands to create tiny strips (they do not need to be perfect) and lay a lightly folded slice on each RITZ® Cracker.
- Cut the cheese into 1 inch pieces and place one piece of cheese on top of the ham. Top each mini sandwich with another RITZ® Cracker, rounded side up.
- Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until melted, about 45 seconds. Gently whisk in the Dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, and salt.
- Pour the butter mixture evenly over the mini sandwiches, dividing the mixture evenly between the two pans. Sprinkle the poppy seeds and the dried onion flakes evenly over the top.
- Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the tops of the Ritz Crackers are lightly golden brown.
- Transfer to a serving platter and serve while fresh out of the oven.
These were a big hit at my party. Thank you Kate.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for your kind review, Cynthia!
These are good but I think if I made them again, I would leave out the salt and maybe even opt for low sodium Ritz crackers and low sodium Worcestershire. I like salt but between the saltiness of the ham, crackers and Worcestershire sauce, it was just a little too much for me. Thank you so much for the recipe though, next time I think I need to enjoy them with a drizzle of honey or a raspberry chipotle sauce or something sweet.
Yummy. Thinking next time to serve with a dip, any suggestions ?
Ohh excellent question. Ranch? What about a hot cheese dip (like queso)? Or a Dijonnaise to complement the ham. Let me know if you try something and like it!
oh so yummy. we get tired of same old stuff and decided to make party food for a change. these are really good and you have your protein and carb. we also had a veggie salad to go with it. thanks. Locket
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! Thank you so much for leaving a review.
Can they be made completely before transporting them to a party, say 1/2 hour or so?
Unfortunately not. They will get soggy as they sit. The butter should be drizzled on and baked right away, and then consumed right away for best results.
I unfortunately misunderstood the part about gathering all the ingredients ahead of time. I unfortunately assembled them and took them with me to bake at my church. I put on the topping and baked them, but the crackers had already become soggy before that time. Whoops. I’m going to go for a second try at home. they smell fantastic in the oven and the ingredients are so simple. My girlfriend suggested using everything bagel seasoning in place of the onion flakes. It already contains poppy seeds, so that saves one from having to purchase poppy seeds.
Took mine to a church porch event. Very easy to prep ahead of time and then cook. Yummy!
I’m so glad that you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
Hi Marcia,
Did you assemble the sandwiches at the church or did you bring them assembled and just bake at church? I’m planning on taking these to a church event and would love to have most of the prep work done before I arrive but not have them be soggy. Thank you so much.
Hi Dina, you can assemble them at home but do not pour the butter mixture over the top. When you get to church, pour the butter mixture over the top and bake. The butter can make them soggy if it sits on them for too long. Hope this helps!
I’ll be camping without an oven will it work in a microwave
I’m honestly not sure—I haven’t tried that method.
Made these for my family of 16 while on our 2 week beach vacation and they didn’t last 5 minutes! So good! They loved them and so did I!
I’m so happy to hear that they were a hit for your family—thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
These turned out really good and so easy to make. I am taking these to a party but I do low carb/keto so I used a couple of keto buns for me but followed the recipe. very good
I’m so glad that you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Ritz crackers got soggy. Filling was good!
My crackers were crunchy and delicious!